The Siskiyou Substance Abuse Coalition (SSAC) will be launching its Athletes Committed program on Aug. 1. It will kick off at the Weed, Happy Camp, Butte Valley and Mount Shasta high schools.

At the SSAC's July 15 meeting, Arden Carr, a licensed clinical site supervisor for the county's behavioral health services, provided an update on the program's status, successes and potential future actions.

The coaches received information on running the program in their schools and a 4-gigabyte flashdrive's worth of guides, manuals and posters to help them get started.

Student leader training is set to begin the week of Aug. 12. Parent committed training is still in the works.

In addition, presentations on Athletes Committed have been made to other districts, with many still deciding whether to be a part of the program.

"There were many heated public hearings where this has really raised the issue in the community," said Carr. "Parents are realizing this program will impact or potentially impact their perspective of drugs and alcohol in their own homes."

Carr did point out these realizations have resulted in positive outcomes but could not go into specifics.

Carr's presentation addressed the steps needed to be taken in the future. He noted that in the districts currently running the program, some sports are not represented while others are over-represented. He also suggested the usefulness of sponsoring students to go to the Lake Placcid training camp to learn to be student leaders.

During the presentation, SSAC members discussed the necessity for balance between the county and the schools, pointing out the need to create a framework that will serve the entire county while providing enough flexibility that the schools can tackle their unique situations in an individual manner.

Athletes Committed is designed to create a drug-free athletic environment and help students with substance abuse issues while prompting all student athletes to obtain their potential.

Further updates are scheduled for the next meeting, slated for Aug. 19.